PITTSBURGH – The University of Pittsburgh wrestling team finished a perfect 4-0 at the Pitt Duals on Saturday. The Panthers, who hosted the event at the Fitzgerald Field House, improved to 8-1 on the season with wins over Columbia, Eastern Michigan, Princeton and VMI.

Anthony Zanetta (125 pounds) and Matt Wilps (197) each posted 4-0 records on the day to keep their perfect dual season intact at 9-0.

Zanetta - ranked No. 15 by WrestlingReport.com - registered a pair of decisions over ranked opponents, beating No. 18 Jared Germaine (Eastern Michigan) 9-5 and No. 22 Garrett Frey (Princeton) 7-5. He controlled Germaine the entire match on his way to a victory, but had to turn in a superb comeback effort in the win over Frey.

Wilps faced little resistance during an unbeaten day, registering a fall, a 9-1 major decision, a 4-0 shutout and a win by forfeit. The redshirt junior is ranked fifth in the nation and has just three losses on the season, all to two wrestlers ranked in the top-five.

No. 21 Shelton Mack and No. 29 Tyler Wilps each finished 3-0 and both had a win over a ranked opponent. Mack posted a decision over No. 27 Kyle Gilchrist (Columbia) while Wilps had a decision over No. 33 Eren Civan (Columbia). It was Wilps’s second win in the last week over Civan, who is a two-time national qualifier.

No. 18 Ethan Headlee also had a win over a ranked wrestler with a decision over Columbia’s No. 29 Stephen West. He was 2-1 on the day.

Pitt entered Saturday’s event with a perfect 11-0 record against their four opponents and upped that mark to 15-0 with the four wins. The Panthers are now 6-0 against Eastern Michigan, 4-0 over Princeton, 3-0 versus VMI and 2-0 in matches with Columbia.

At 8-1-0 the Panthers are off to their best start to a season since also going 8-1-0 during the 1986-87 season. Coach Rande Stottlemyer’s squad has started 7-1-1 through nine matches twice since then.

Pitt will return to action on Friday, Jan. 13 when it hosts Lock Haven at the Fitzgerald Field House. The Panthers have won 13 straight matches in the EWL.